Bengaluru, Apr 9: Former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Monday said he doesn’t think marital rape should be made an offence in India. “There is no necessity to bring such kind of law. This is my personal view,” he said.
Participating in the inaugural session of National Conference on Transformative Constitutionalism in India: Reflections on Shifting Paradigms organised by the KLE Society’s Law College, Justice Misra said borrowed ideas are not acceptable in all circumstances.
“Because some country has made marital rape an offence… I don’t think it should be regarded as an offence in India. In villages, it will create absolute anarchy in many families. Our country is sustaining because of the family platform. We still have family values... we still respect the family background and many other facets,” he pointed out.
The former CJI expressed his opinion during an interactive session with law students. He made the above statements when a first-year LLB student asked him, “Don’t you think the rape laws in India must be amended? Shouldn’t rape laws be made gender neutral and marital rape also be considered a crime?”
In India, marital rape, or man forcing his wife to have sex, is not defined in any statute or law. Women’s rights activists have been fighting at various forums, including the court of law, to make it a criminal offence.
Before he stepped down as CJI during October 2018, Justice Misra had delivered several landmark judgments upholding constitutional, fundamental and individual rights. A five-judge bench headed by him had delivered the historic ruling on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising homosexuality.
The two-day seminar being held on the Ullal campus will see as many as 55 paper presentations from legal studies enthusiasts and experts from different parts of the country.
Rational anarchy has no room in democracy
Talking about power-sharing between the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor, former CJI Dipak Misra said all constitutional functionaries are supposed to show constitutional behaviour. “They have to be guided by constitutional morality. Rational anarchy has no room in democracy. Similarly, individual imperialism has no space in democracy. A balance has to be struck,” he said.
There is no arithmetic in law
Speaking about last year’s apex court verdict on IPC section 377, Justice Misra said, “There is nothing called arithmetic in law. The arguments such as so many people (meaning majority) are not affected won’t hold. It is a question of fundamental right. If your fundamental right is affected it is the duty of the court to protect it. Now these people (LGBT) who were fighting against section 377 are actually excluded from the mainstream of the society. Introduction of the concept of inclusion is transformative constitutionalism. You have to have an inclusive society. You can’t exclude anybody.”
Comments
Add new comment